DOE-ID
Bi-Weekly Summary
For the Period Feb. 26, 2013 to Mar. 18, 2013

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a regular summary
of operations at DOE's Idaho Site. It has been compiled
in response to a request from stakeholders for more
information on health, safety and environmental
incidents at DOE facilities in Idaho. It also includes a
brief summary of accomplishments at the laboratory. The
report is broken down by contractor:
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP),
Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP)
and
Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This summary will
be sent to everyone on INL's regular news release
distribution list every other week. To be added to this
distribution list, please call Brad Bugger at (208)
526-0833.

Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project

March 6: During inspection, a drum of transuranic
material that was scheduled for super-compaction at the
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility was determined
to contain more fissile material than allowed by safety
regulations. The drum was placed in administrative hold,
and movement of fissile material in the Treatment
Facility was stopped pending an investigation.
(EM-ID—ITG-AMWTF-2013-0005).

March 13: During routine quality assurance work, it was
determined that a revised procedure in use at the
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility had not
undergone the proper level of review before
implementation. Because this was the third instance in
the last month that proper review procedures were not
followed, management at the facility determined that a
comprehensive look at the review process was warranted.
(EM-ID—ITG-AMWTF-2013-0006).

Operational Summary

Waste Shipments: The Advanced Mixed Waste
Treatment Facility has built 67 “virtual shipments” of
transuranic waste (assumed shipments based on volume of
certified containers) since the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant in New Mexico shut down for maintenance in
January. Waste shipments to WIPP were expected to resume
to this month, as the disposal facility reopens.

Idaho Cleanup Project

March 12: A small insulation fire occurred in one of
the CPP-606 boiler house plant air dryers. Personnel
were evacuated from the facility, the Idaho National
Laboratory Fire Department responded and declared the
fire out. There were no injuries or damage to the plant
air system. (EM-ID—CWI-LANDLORD-2013-0001).

Operational Summary

Innovative Approach to Treating Sodium: An innovative
idea for cleaning up sodium in the decommissioned
Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) located at the
Materials and Fuels Complex grew out of a morning
carpool discussion and evolved into a patented treatment
method.
EBR-II, a sodium cooled reactor, was shut down in 1994.
Most of the sodium was drained and disposed of, but
small amounts remained in the reactor vessel and trapped
in piping. The remaining sodium was passivated by
blowing moist carbon dioxide through the system.
Passivating sodium this way creates a powdery crust of
sodium bicarbonate and helps make the sodium safer.

Idaho National Laboratory

Feb. 26: A maintenance technician at the Specific
Manufacturing Capability project was recently escorted
into an area to perform work using an Engineered Safety
Device key control when they crossed into an additional
hazard area not under the protection of that safety
device. No one was injured. Management was
notified and an investigation into the incident was
initiated. (NE-ID—BEA-SMC-2013-0003).

Feb. 26: It was discovered that a safety analysis
performed on a seismically-induced shutdown of the
Advanced Test Reactor did not consider the potential
impact of an experiment failure in the event of such a
shutdown. The reactor was shut down for maintenance at
the time of this determination, but interim controls
that ensure safe operations will be in effect until an
evaluation of this factor can be completed.
(NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2013-0008).

Feb. 26: It was determined that the core loading for an
experimental position in the Advanced Test Reactor was
incorrect because an aluminum filler was installed
instead of the stainless steel backup that was specified
by the core safety assurance package. The reactor was
shut down at the time, and a critique of the event was
ordered. (NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2013-0009).

March 7: It was determined that proper procedures were
not followed at the Fuel Manufacturing Facility in order
to insure criticality safety when the Criticality Alarm
System was not operable. No fuel handling operations
were going on at the time. Actions were taken to make
sure there was not enough fissile material in the area
to cause a criticality, limits were placed on the
operations at the facility, and a critique was held.
(NE-ID—BEA-FMF-2013-0002).

March 11: During his rounds, an employee noted that an
overhead heater was arcing and sparking at the Sodium
Components Maintenance Shop. The employee pulled the
manual fire alarm and exited the facility, but later
recognized that the alarm was local and did not alarm
complex-wide as expected. He called his supervisor, who
notified the Fire Department, who responded immediately
to the facility, found no smoke or flames, opened the
breaker to the heater which had tripped, and place the
heater out of service. It was later determined that
maintenance on the associated telephone conductors had
occurred earlier in the day and the manual fire alarm
retest had not yet been conducted at the time of the
heater failure. The alarm system will be repaired to
assure it functions properly. (NE-ID—BEA-MFC-2013-0001).

Operational Summary

Reverse Mining for Rare Substances: So-called rare
earth elements are deeply embedded in everything from
fluorescent light bulbs to smartphones — and they're
critical for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar
panels. Because these materials are subject to supply
disruptions, the U.S. Department of Energy is investing
in solutions to potential domestic shortages. On Jan. 9,
DOE announced the
creation of a new Critical Materials Innovation Hub
led by the Ames
Laboratory.
Idaho National Laboratory scientists will contribute to
that effort with expertise from recycling fissionable
material from used nuclear fuel rods. They'll now apply
similar principles to separate rare earth metals and
other critical materials from crushed consumer products.
The work could also help improve extraction from the
mining process.